I paced around again as thoughts and possibilities crowded my head.
“It’s got to be Lucie,” Jez suggested. “She was there this afternoon. She heard everything.”
“But didn’t Debbie say that her father had a meeting with Ben, she mentioned it at the picnic,” Hannah offered. “But Debbie wouldn’t do that.”
“It doesn’t make sense. Who would do that to Mira? She has no enemies, she’s one of the nicest people I know,” I proclaimed. “The only people I trust here is you three, and Mira.”
“So what do we do?” Jez asked.
“We carry on, but one of you must tell Debbie and Lucie that it’s off. If either of them is spying on us I don’t want them anywhere near us tonight.”
Morgan put an arm around my shoulder, this time I didn’t shake it off. “I’ll do it. They’ll listen to me.” He kissed my head gently. Jez and Hannah didn’t seem surprised by his sudden show of affection.
“Okay, where’s the box?”
Jez produced the square cardboard container from his inner jacket. “It’s here. I need to grid reference the maps first before I bring it over.”
“No, there’s no time. We all go straight to Morgan’s,” I said insistently.
“But we still need supplies, the torches and stuff?”
“Okay, give me the box. You go home, don’t stay longer than ten minutes, and go straight to Morgan’s after. Don’t stop anywhere on the way.”
“Okay, Hannah, you coming with?”
Hannah reached for me and drew me into a tight hug. “It’ll be okay, Rose. You’ll see. Mira will be fine and we’ll sort the other stuff out.”
I nodded, she was right. While I was in Hannah’s enormous embrace a car drove by slowly. Pritchard and Archer were inside, dressed as civilians. One of them held a thumb up in question. I did the same in return. They drove on without stopping.
“Let’s go,” Morgan ordered and we all separated. Hannah and Jez went to their car, and Morgan dragged me by the hand to the bike. My body still shook in fury, and my hands were clumsy as I put on the helmet and sat on the bike. We cruised back to Daisy’s, this time passing the entrance and tucking into the side lane around the corner directly onto Morgan’s driveway.
I was pacing again inside his cottage. Morgan had quietly put the kettle on and was now making tea as I scratched my fingers through my hair again and again.
I stamped my foot again and cursed. The rage was still burning inside me, I couldn’t bear it. To think that someone had intentionally tried to hurt one of my friends made me so angry I felt like a rabid horse, chomping and chomping on the bit.
It took most of Morgan’s effort to try and drag me to the sofa, and settle me down. Once I took a sip of tea I felt calmer, the realisation finally sinking in that what was done couldn’t be undone. There was nothing in my power that could change anything.
The next time I saw Aiden Deverill though, he would have hell to pay for what he’d done, and I only hoped the time would be soon.
- Chapter Thirteen -
It was dark outside when Hannah arrived with Jez in tow, laden with other bags, rucksacks, coats and the box we had been so keen to see the contents of. Hannah carried a takeaway pizza box as per our initial plan. Hopefully it would fool whoever was watching outside the houses.
Morgan cleared away room in order for us to all sit around his table, Hannah perched on the sofa arm and Jez propped himself on the floor, as he unfolded the large map showing the underground tunnels of the town. He’d grid referenced all his information onto this map and soon we were all poring over it, pointing out landmarks that we knew to be on the surface.
“So, we’re here,” Jez pointed to a small circle in the maze marking a tunnel entrance. “Daisy’s house is here, and they both join this long tunnel under Cradle hill, leading into the town. The next entrance is at the church. Then if you turn left, and travel about a mile, it ends at the old orphanage site on the edge of town. The other direction goes under the high street and joins another tunnel which has an entrance at the Council building and then the old corn market.”
“Where else has an entrance to the tunnel,” Hannah asked.
“There’s a few,” Jez pointed his pen to the map again. “If you follow this tunnel it joins up with another one and the next entry is at the Primary school and then under the Deverill house. If you double back now onto the adjacent tunnel it leads to Battlesbury Barracks, the army camp.”
“What’s this in the centre?” Morgan pointed at a circular area, almost like a round underground room with five different tunnels leading from it.
“That’s probably where they used to keep supplies, and if you look along closely you can see there are probably other rooms off many of the tunnels. The army in 1937 were smart. There’s nothing at the edge, it’s all basically under the centre of town.”
“Why is that smart,” I asked curiously.
“Well, if you were worried about anyone sneaking in and stealing anything, they’d have to travel a long way before they got to the store rooms. They would have been intercepted way before they even got there,” Jez replied. “I think these lines here are small guard rooms which would all have been manned at the time. See, there’s no way to get into the central zone without passing at least one of the guard rooms.”
“Sounds creepy,” Hannah said rubbing her arm to calm down her goose bumps.
“Right, so where do we go?” said Morgan.
“I think you need to head for this central circle. Who knows what’s still down there now? But if my dad is anywhere, he’ll be in this area, I’m sure of it,” Jez bit his lip and sat back.
“So, we do this,” I said. “What’s the time now?”
“Just gone nine pm, let’s get ready,” said Morgan, then to Jez. “Show me what you’ve brought.”
I sat for a moment studying the map again, trying to remember the guard rooms, the junctions, which way the tunnels veered off from the central circle.
“Rose, what’s up?” Hannah said softly.
“I think, before I go, I need to see Daisy. Make sure she’s okay, and tell her where I am,” I said thinking out loud as I stood.
“Yep, you go but don’t be long,” said Morgan giving me a secret smile. He grabbed my hand as I walked past him and squeezed it quickly.
“See you in a bit,” I added to them and I ran across the lawn to the house.
The house was in darkness. I switched on the kitchen light to accustom my eyes; the only noise came from the fridge and the occasional drip from the sink tap. I slowly walked into the hallway and stood in silence.
Closing my eyes I used my gift to feel for any presence in the house, but it was empty. The eerie creaks, moans and starkness were all that filled my ears.
The hall stand notepad was blank, no note from Daisy to say where she was. It was the same in the study, with her papers scattered across the desk, with nothing to give me an idea of where she might be.
I tried her mobile as I walked back to the kitchen to view her calendar. Her phone rang twice then stopped. The automated operator told me that the phone was not available, which most likely meant that it was switched off. Daisy would never have done that, so either she’d run out of battery or she couldn’t answer for some reason.
The calendar had an appointment with WG, which I took to mean Women’s Guild but it had been a morning meeting. Her afternoon schedule was blank.
Something wasn’t right here, I don’t know how I knew but I felt it. This wasn’t like Daisy. She wouldn’t have disappeared without letting me know or leaving a note.
I felt cold as though a chill had entered the room and I wrapped my arms tightly around my body. If I couldn’t get hold of Daisy I knew someone who could.
I sent a text to Pritchard to see if she’d been to the army hospital to see Henry during the afternoon.
While I waited for a reply I dashed upstairs to put on a warm jumper and my thick boots again. If the tunnels had been forgotte
n there was no knowing what state they would be in now. I grabbed a pair of gloves from my drawer and shoved them into my jacket pocket. I didn’t want to be cold needlessly and really didn’t want to use my gift around Morgan too much. I needed him to remember that I was a normal girl, not some freak who could change her body temperature at will.
As I left my room I heard the rapid beep of my mobile. Pritchard’s text read “Not seen Daisy since 13h00. Where are you going?”
So, if Daisy hadn’t returned from her meeting, then where was she?
I sent a reply back. “I’m worried about Daisy. I’ll be at Morgan’s all night with friends.”
He didn’t answer and by the time I walked across the lawn to Morgan’s, I could hear the TV loudly from the cottage. The guys were masking their own sounds, and the pretence was working as planned.
The first thing I notice on my arrival back was a piece of cardboard had been taped to the wall high up in the corner.
“To hide the camera,” Hannah whispered.
I whipped round and dragged Morgan to a quiet corner
“Don’t you think that’s a bit suspicious?” I said. “Won’t someone be banging on the door at any moment?”
“Nope, the camera is only for my use. Army boys aren’t interested what happens inside here. But they have a view of the feed, if all four of us suddenly disappear downstairs, it may raise a few eyebrows.”
“Daisy’s not in the house. I don’t know where she is. I’ve sent a text to Pritchard so he’ll probably try and find her.”
“I wouldn’t worry about Daisy too much, she’ll be fine,” Morgan said and rubbed a reassuring hand down my back. “You okay?”
“I’m fine, just a little worried. Tell me the plan.” He nodded and led me back to the table where Jez was busy packing a bag and the rucksack.
“Jez is packing two bags. The rucksack has food, water, and a change of clothes, in case we find Graham. The bag has things we’ll need. Compass, tape, rope, wet-wipes, a first aid kit, some energy bars, bottles of water and the grid maps. We can carry the torches and keep our phones in our pockets.”
Jez put the packed bags down and reached for another box. Inside, packed into tight foam were other objects that I had never seen before.
“Here, let me put this in your ear to try it,” Jez lifted a small microphone which latched under my earlobe. “You press this once and talk normally. We’ll hear you from up here. Anything you don’t want us to hear,” he gave a sly smile to Morgan. “Just press it again and it’ll cut the signal.”
“We’ll stay together down there, but if we get split up for any reason, Jez can switch the signal so we can talk, right?” Morgan flicked a glance at Jez who nodded.
“Hannah will read you through the maps when you’re down there, in case lighting is bad. Keep your compass handy,” Jez continued. “It’s a sophisticated one that will also navigate your distances as well. There’s only one compass so try and stay together.”
Jez and Hannah moved the sofa out slightly and placed the navigation instruments in front of them, placing ear pieces into their own ears, Morgan did the same.
“Right, let’s get this wall down,” said Morgan. Jez followed him as they left through another door. I heard the quiet thump of boots on stairs as they went down below. Soon the noise of hammering, drills and wood being sawn filled the cottage.
Hannah and I sat quietly while we waited. She was nervous, tapping her shoes on the floor in rhythmic succession.
“What do we do if he’s not down there?” I said abruptly.
Her foot stopped as she thought about what I’d said. “I don’t know. Try something else, I guess. But we’re right about this, I just know it.”
“Hannah, will you do something for me?” I asked quietly.
“Sure.”
“If something should happen, or if you don’t hear from us within an hour of our last contact, will you ring this number and tell them where we are?” I wrote Pritchard’s number on a notepad and placed it on the table.
“Who is it?”
“His name is Pritchard. I can’t go into the details now but should something happen to either of us, don’t hesitate in calling him.”
“Okay, I had already planned to call Daisy,” she stated.
“Daisy isn’t home, she’s gone somewhere.”
Hannah understood quickly what I was getting at; she’d known me for so long.
“What if Daisy comes back?”
“Just call Pritchard first, no matter what. Then tell Daisy.” I put the pen down and waited. Downstairs the noise ceased and the boys were on their way back, treading softly on the stair boards.
“Okay, you’re good to go,” Jez said, rubbing his hands together in preparation. “Earpieces in?”
“Yes,” we all replied.
I slung the bag across my shoulder and secured it over my chest making sure it hung under one arm so I could run if I needed. Morgan had the backpack in place and Jez handed us the large heavy duty torches.
We all looked at each other for a moment; this was the calm before the storm. Hannah pulled me into a bear hug and whispered “Be careful,” before letting me go and doing the same to Morgan.
Jez hugged Morgan then pulled me into an embrace. We had never really been this close before but it felt nice. He felt like a real friend at last as I hoped I was to him.
“Good luck,” they both said together as we walked down the stairs. I glanced quickly back and they waved. Our only connection to the upstairs world was now disappearing as I entered the colder domain of Morgan’s basement.
Where the wall had been, now stood a heavily rusted iron door with a circular wheel to secure it open and closed. Morgan turned it and pulled the giant piece of metal open and we stepped into the dark dank underground chamber.
It wasn’t as I imagined. It was too dark. The heavy air was damp and musty with mould spores. Fungus grew from the walls and dripping weeds hung from the roof. Their usual green had been bleached to white due to the absence of any real oxygen or light. Drops of water thumped into pools up and down the walkway, and the floor was a slippery mass of slime and other grotesque things.
“Smells like something died down here,” I whispered. My voice amplified along the empty walls and echoed a repeat into the distance.
“Yeah, it’s pretty bad,” Morgan grimaced. “Here, hand me the map.”
I was thankful that Jez had seen fit to place the map in a plastic envelope to prevent any smudges or water damage. I handed it over.
“So, if we turn left at the next junction we have a mile to walk under Cradle Hill to the next junction.”
“Let’s go,” I breathed out. The air was clammy round my mouth.
Our torches lingered each side of the tunnel, giving us a clear view of what was ahead. At the junction I stopped. At the right of us lay another long corridor.
“That’s the way to Daisy’s entrance,” Morgan said. I shone my torch along the floor way but it was too dark near the end to see the entry to Daisy’s house. It certainly didn’t look like the way had been used, leading me to think that Daisy had probably abandoned it, and boarded it up as Morgan had.
Hannah’s voice sounded in our ears. “So, you should be at the junction now. The tunnel to the left goes to the town. There are two guard rooms along the way so check them out. The first one is about three hundred metres on your right. Let us know when you get there.”
“Will do,” Morgan said and pressed his earpiece.
We trudged over the floor and I shone my torch down to see the intricate brickwork at our feet. “This must have taken forever to build. Do you think the army did all this?”
“No, the army probably started but when the war began it was probably the prisoners of war. There was a camp near Imber. Polish, Germans and French, and anyone on Hitler’s side, or conspiring against the British Crown. This was probably their punishment.”
We carried on, stepping carefully. The walkway got easier as we mo
ved further into the underground maze. Soon the brickwork turned to concrete and the dampness under our feet dried up. We quickened our steps as the way got less slimy and we made it to the first guard room.
Cobwebs hung from the ceiling and dust particles claimed their place on the iron door. It was already open and the room was small with one small wooden table and a couple of metal chairs. The seats of the chairs had perished, but the table remained intact. In the corner was an empty filing cabinet, with one bottom drawer open providing a new home to a rat or mouse. Inside the drawer scraps of material, dried out moss and other scavenged debris lined the edges. Whoever’s house it had been were long gone.
I shone my torch around the room and then I noticed something.
“What do you see?” I said to Morgan who was closing the filing drawer.
“Nothing. What do you mean?”
“The table? There’s no dust on it.”
“It’s been used recently. But the chairs are all broken.
“Someone was here though. Why would they come here?”
I shivered as we continued further. The air was getting clearer, though the ceiling began to look decrepit as long tree roots had buried their way through and were now embedded down into the walls, craving the dampness that had been here before.
“Doesn’t look too safe,” Morgan muttered as he shone the torch upwards. The plaster had cracked so much that pieces of it were now entangled into the roots. One sudden movement and the whole roof might come down.
I pulled at the compass from my bag and pointed it forward. The red beam sprung out ahead into the void and the reading flashed on the screen. I pressed my earpiece.
“Hannah, the compass says seven hundred metres to the end.”
“Good, the next room is about four hundred metres on the left.”
“Okay,” I left the earpiece sound on in case they wanted to talk to us. I knew Morgan had switched his off but it seemed a better idea to keep the channel open. Being down here was spooky, and I didn’t want to take any chances if we got jumped by someone.
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